


Туған күніңмен!

by Allekha



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Ficlet, Gen, Languages, Minor Katsuki Yuuri/Victor Nikiforov, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 01:27:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 629
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29342070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allekha/pseuds/Allekha
Summary: Yuri really should stop dithering so much over this happy birthday text to Otabek just because he tried writing it in Kazakh.
Relationships: Otabek Altin & Yuri Plisetsky
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13
Collections: Unofficial FFA Unanon Collection





	Туған күніңмен!

Yuri's not good at languages and he doesn't care. He grudgingly works on his English because it's useful for his career and he doesn't want to sound like a complete idiot if he needs it for an interview. (And maybe a little because he hates being left behind when Yuuri and Victor start talking too fast.) Lilia, thankfully, doesn't make him learn French along with ballet and choreography and the right way to clean her kitchen. Maybe two words of Japanese have stayed in his head from that week in Hasetsu, and if he can recognize the kanji for Yuuri's name, nobody else knows about it.  
  
So he is totally not fretting over this text message to Otabek. It's stupidly short and it doesn't say anything important and it's simple enough that he probably couldn't fuck it up much.  
  
He downloaded the language-learning app and searched for Kazakh a few months ago, when plane delays on the way home got them stuck for long enough that Yuri had exhausted every other means of entertaining himself. At first glance, it had seemed like it would be easy enough – at least the alphabet was mostly the same – only it turned out not really.  
  
Yuri hasn't gotten super far in the app's lessons; he doesn't use it every day and had to check a dictionary for some of the words. He should probably just rewrite the message in Russian if he's going to feel so weird about it. There would be so much more he could say, and it kind of feels like he's, he doesn't know, trying to show off, or something.  
  
But he hadn't thought Yuuri was showing off when he'd revealed that he knew some Russian. Well, he'd already been speaking a weird mish-mash of Russian and English with Yakov at the rink, whatever skating words worked to get them through their ice time, but that didn't count. And then some dick in another group had insulted Yuuri's new program, and before Yuri could put his toepick in his calf, Yuuri had turned around and informed him of Lilia's artsy concept for the whole thing like the guy was too stupid to get it.  
  
Victor's face had been bright red afterward. Yuri didn't know if it was a joyful blush or if he'd been embarrassed, like maybe he'd realized that Yuuri could understand all the stupidly sappy things he probably said when they—  
  
Anyway. He reads the message over again, then tells himself to stop being dumb and send it. Hopefully it makes Otabek happy, and if not, he'll probably say something at some point because he's great like that. _Happy birthday! Have a cool day and eat a delicious dinner. And also win in China next week._ He attaches it to a photo of Potya being extra adorable as he plays with a toy.  
  
He throws his phone to the side, telling himself Otabek must be busy celebrating when he doesn't respond right away. When it does eventually ding, though, he drops his homework and opens the message instantly.  
  
_Thanks_ , Otabek replies, in Kazakh, with a rare smiley added. Right after comes a photo of his unwrapped actual present, which Yuri gave him in person when they met at a competition a couple weeks ago; the message is a thumbs-up emoji.  
  
Yuri collapses back on the bed to reply, relieved and glad, and asks how his birthday was – in Russian again, since his brain is tired from his homework. Otabek sounds like he's pretty tired, too, so it's not long before they say their good-nights.  
  
He glances at his abandoned homework. He should finish it if he doesn't want another boring scolding from Lilia tomorrow. But first, he opens the language app again. Just for a few minutes.

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: learning a language for someone  
> Title means 'happy birthday' in Kazakh.


End file.
